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Not Afraid
"'''Not Afraid" is the first single from American rapper Eminem's seventh studio album Recovery.1 The single was produced by Canadian producer Boi-1da. It premiered on April 29, 2010, on Shade 45.2 The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number one for the week ending May 22, 2010, making it the sixteenth song in Billboards history to debut at number one and only the second rap single ever to debut at the top spot.3 As of October 31, 2010, "Not Afraid" had sold 3 million downloads in the United States. Background On April 27, 2010, Eminem released a freestyle titled "Despicable" over "Over" by Drake and "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" by Lloyd Banks featuring Juelz Santana as promo for the single.5 Critical reception This song received positive reviews with special attention to the emotional expression, Eminem's rhyming skills and his reaching out to other producers (his music is typically produced by mentor Dr. Dre or Eminem himself). ''Rolling Stone praised Eminem's commitment on his new music and lyrical ability noting "Over a dark, operatic beat, Eminem delivers rhymes that are typically acrobatic – and typically heavy-handed. But the anger has a gathering quality." Commercial performance The song sold 380,000 digital downloads in its first week, and became the sixteenth song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to debut at number one.3 "Not Afraid" is only the second hip hop single to debut at No. 1 following "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112.6 It was the fourth fastest selling song, digitally, after "Right Round" by Flo Rida, "Boom Boom Pow" by Black Eyed Peas and his own collaboration with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent "Crack a Bottle".[citation needed] After ten weeks the song had sold 1,750,000 downloads.7 As of October the song had sold three million downloads in the United States.4 Music video The music video was shot in Newark, New Jersey, on the streets downtown.8 It was directed by Rich Lee. Eminem is shown rapping on the top of the city hall in New York City and the outside of the Staten Island Ferry moving from New York to Newark. Royce da 5'9" made a cameo appearance in the video. The video premiered on June 5, 2010.9 The video also premiered on Channel 4 in the UK on the next day. Live performances On June 4, 2010, Eminem performed the song during Fearne Cotton's show on BBC Radio 1, in the Live Lounge. Eminem also played a medley of his 2000 hit "Stan" and "Forever", his 2009 collaboration with Drake, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. The performance was very well received, and Eminem stated that he wished to appear on the show more frequently. "Not Afraid" was performed live on The Late Show with David Letterman (show taped), at the 2010 BET Awards along with B.o.B's hit single "Airplanes Part II", and at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Awards and nominations The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.[citation needed] Eminem was nominated for eight awards as a solo performer and shared one nomination with Drake for "Forever".[citation needed] "Not Afraid" won the awards for Best Male Video and Best Hip-Hop Video. Category:Songs